Vikings trade of CB Mekhi Blackmon raises major questions for GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

The Minnesota Vikings are preparing for cutdown day like every other team in the NFL, but few teams have been making as many trades. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been incredibly active and made his third trade in the last week by sending cornerback Mekhi Blackmon to the Indianapolis Colts for a sixth-round pick. It […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looks on before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looks on before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium. MandatoMatt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings are preparing for cutdown day like every other team in the NFL, but few teams have been making as many trades. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been incredibly active and made his third trade in the last week by sending cornerback Mekhi Blackmon to the Indianapolis Colts for a sixth-round pick.

It feels a little weird for the Vikings to move on from Blackmon going into year three, especially after taking him at 102nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. It’s especially weird because he was pretty good as a rookie. Unfortunately, Blackmon tore his ACL on the first day of training camp last year, creating a major setback that the Vikings are dealing with two weeks ahead of the start of the 2025 season.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could be prepping for a big move

Going into this training camp, Blackmon looked to be ready to take the next step. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the progress during training camp that the Vikings had hoped for. In coming back from a torn ACL, it can be extremely difficult to build back the confidence you had in your knee before the injury. It seemed that Blackmon was dealing with some of that, and it was evident on the touchdown he allowed against the New England Patriots.

The big question for the Vikings is simple: what is Adofo-Mensah cooking? There has to be some sort of plan. Right now, the Vikings only have one cornerback capable of playing meaningful snaps in the slot projected to make the roster, and that’s their top cornerback, Byron Murphy Jr.

The addition of a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft gives Adofo-Mensah up to 11 picks to work with.

  • 1st
  • 2nd
  • 3rd
  • 3rd (projected compensatory pick for Sam Darnold)
  • 4th (projected compensatory pick for Daniel Jones)
  • 5th
  • 5th (from Philadelphia Eagles)
  • 5th (projected compensatory pick for Cam Robinson)
  • 6th (from Indianapolis Colts)
  • 7th
  • 7th (from Houston Texans)

The Vikings can’t trade any of their compensatory selections until they are awarded in March, and the fifth-round pick from the Eagles currently has a condition attached to it, meaning that it cannot be traded until the condition is met.

Are the Vikings potentially working their way to make a big move? It certainly feels that way. Minnesota has plenty of ammunition to make a big move if it wanted to, but who would it be targeting? Adam Thielen has been rumored since last week, and there seems to be a real desire from the Vikings and Thielen to make it work.

With the developing need at cornerback, the Vikings could be working to bring in a big name, possibly someone like Denzel Ward or Trevon Diggs. Nothing is certain yet, but let’s make one thing perfectly clear: Adofo-Mensah has something up his sleeve.

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